Champagne, Montagne de Reims

The grapes from our Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier vines are used to produce Partners’ award-winning, non-vintage champagne. It is rated Premier Cru and has the power and depth of vintage champagne but at a fraction of the price.

The artisanal operations such as remuage and dégorgement are still done by hand by winemaker Pierre Fresne.

Your allocation:48 bottles per year – you can order as much as you want (6s/12s), no obligation to buyAnnual vintage release: FebruaryAccommodation nearby:Yes, we can arrangeEvent at this vineyard: Yes, we enjoy a unique Champagne Blending experience followed by lunch at the domaine with Pierre Fresne>more

Medals include:

The vines & champagne

These vines are based in the tiny, picturesque village of Ville-Dommange, close to the city of Reims. The parcels are called Les Mainbert and Les Braies and are planted high on the hill of the village on south and south east-facing slopes to capture maximum sunlight, important in a wine region so far north.

Champagne Fresne Ducret have the distinction of being one of a very few champagne houses whose vines are all situated in the one place, rather than being scattered far and wide throughout the Champagne region. The vineyards are mainly planted with Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier vines and all are rated Premier Cru in quality.

From their chai, tucked away in the village, Pierre and Daniella Fresne take you for a short walk through the village to their cellar which is cut steeply into the hillside. This is the place where, for seven generations, their champagnes have been hand-crafted and matured. Many of the unique, artisanal operations such as remuage and dégorgement are still done by hand by Pierre, which is very rare indeed.

Partners’ award-winning Champagne Origine will spend longer on its lees (solid matter) than most other non-vintage champagnes. This makes it richer and more powerful in style.

The region

Champagne is perhaps France’s best known and most prestigious wine region. It is also the most northerly wine region in the country – within easy reach of the UK – and its cooler climate and chalky soils account for the unique flavours of the wine.

Maturation deep underground, sometimes for many years, help give the wine its rich, complex yet elegant flavours. That and the bubbles of course, which form as a result of the magical transformation of yeast inside the bottle into carbon dioxide and alcohol.

The pretty hilltop village of Ville-Dommange is typically sleepy all year round, except at harvest time, which is usually in September. It lies just a few km west of Reims and the view is superb.

Reims, the capital of Champagne, is an historic and handsome city. For more than 1,000 years, French kings were crowned at its Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims. This grand cathedral is known for its stained-glass windows and Gothic carved portals, including the Smiling Angel.

You can’t come all the way to Reims and not go for at least one tour of the champagne houses that have taken up residence in the town since the 18th century.

Here you’ll also be able to tour one of the many famous Champagne Houses such as Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin, Tattinger and Ruinart – a visit would make a fascinating comparison to our small, family-run domaine Champagne Fresne Ducret.